Egg-tester.



J. R. GRANT. EGG TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6, 1912.

' Patefited Mar.11,1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

3440mm; 55613. [5/ [/22 4- W my 5% J. R. GRANT.

EGG TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED no.6, 1912.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

n f m a 0 2 t a M wi wlmcoov o JESSE R. GRANT, OFKOKOMO, INDIANA,

EGG-TESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

- Application filed August 6, 1912. Serial No. 713,599, I

To all whom it may concern: 1 Beit knownthat I, JEssE R. GRANT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kokomo, in the county of Howard and State of Indiana, have invented new and useful Improvements in Egg-Testers, ofwhich the following'is a specifica'tibn.

The present invention-r lates to improvements in egg testers. In carryingout my invention to provide a simple, cheap and tacle which .is divided by anjegg receiving partition into a light chamber hanged to thd bottom of the partition 6' 'a dark cham'ber disposed above th fppe the partition, the dark 'chainhef having {an eye piece which is so. arrangedthat the face of the operator will fit'a ainst the edges thereof to shut out the lig t, thereby permitting the light from the light chamber to be con= I centrate'd upon the eggs which are arranged as the contents of the eggs Will within depressions or openings provided by the partition sothat theentire contents of the shells will be apparent and the condition of the eggs readily'ascertained' I also aim to construct a device wherein the lower wall of the light chamber shall be rounded and provided with a suitable reflector whereby. the rays of the light-will be diffused through all of thejeggs'which are arranged upon a partition above the light chamber. a

It is also my purpose toprovide means whereby the eggs maybe moved from one of their sides totheir opposite sides so that both sides of the shells of the eggs as well e brought to the view of the operator.

It is a further object 'of the invention to provide an egg tester comprising a station ary lower memberembodying a light chamber having cleats for the support of-an egg tray or partition, and an upper dark' -chamber hingedly connected. therewith, the said upper chamber being provided with a sight opening, and also with means for support ing anegg turning element, a handle having an upturned finger or shaftbeing arranged to project through the lower partition, and the shaft of the said handle so enga 'ng with the turning member as ,to

permit of the dark chamber being swung propose U efi'ective device-of th s character compr sing a recep-Z and -'its spider support.

the arrangement ,of the turning member upon the light chamber.

With the, above recited objects in view,

to an open position withoutinterfering with and others which will appear as the nature of the invention is more fully understood,

that improvement resides in the construction, combination I and operative arrangement of parts set'forth in the following dethe appended claims.

:x In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective v ewof an improved egg tester constructed in 'accoreanoe with this invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view through the same." Fig; 3-is a horizontal sectional view upon the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view upon the line 44 of Figr2. Fig. 5 is a similar sec tion upon the line5-5 ofFig.'-2.' Fig. 6 a perspective view of the 't'urning handle As is well known among merchants, great difficulty is experienced in ascertainingthe condition ofeggs which are handled in the process. of busmessd This is especially true in wholesale houses-where a" great quantity of eggs is purchased or sold at a single .deal.

In order to candle each egg separately quite an amount ofvaluable time will be lost, and

scription, and falling within the scope of as a consequence theprofit will be materially depreciated. Such well"known defects are or deteriorationsin eggs commonly known I as black-rots readily perceptible inthe ordinary process of candling, and in fact such defects are also perceptible when an egg is held'between the fingersofthe operator and between his gaz'e and the light,

but such a process would not aid the operator in ascertaining such deteriorations as badly heated eggs, held eggs, redrots, etc. Neither would such a process permit of the o erator' ascertaining the air space between t e egg and itsshell, which is of material importance in determining the condition of the egg; I have also found from experience, that in order to properly ascertain the condition of the e gs, the said eggs must be observed from di erent angles a and further that it is desirable to revolve the e gs to slightly stir the same in order that a l defects may be observed and the condition of the egg thus ascertained;

tacle 2 isprovided with legs 4 whereby the same may be sustained upon a suitable sup: port. The lower receptacle-2 comprises, what I term the light chamber for the device, and the innerwall thereof is preferably. provided with a glazed surface which serves as a reflector for the light from a suitable. lamp, which in thepresent instance comprises an incandescent electric bulb 5, which is preferably arranged centrally within the rounded bot-tom portions of the light chamber 2. The bulb is so arrangedwith relation to the chamber as to prevent any entrance of the outer light-to within the chamber. The open upper edge of the dark chamber is preferably bent inwardly and then bent again inwardly to provide an annular flange 6, the said flange being adapted as a support for a partition which also serves as an egg tray7. The tray 7 is provided with suitable hand holds 8 whereby the tray may be removed from the light compartment 2 when desired. The tray is formed with a plurality of radially spaced elliptical openings 8, and the upper face'of the tray is concaved to provide the side walls formed by the said openings. "The -upper face of the tray aswell as the walls of the openings has a coating of soft material 9, wherebythe eggs 10 which are arranged upon the walls of the openings are nested upon a cushion which obviates all danger of the breakage of the eggs. Disposed low the tray 7 and connected with the light chamber 2 is the spider 11, the central portion of which has a dependingsleeve which serves as a hear ing for a shaft 13. This shaftis provided with a collar 14 which rests upon the upper face of the sleeve of the spider, and the upwardly extending portion'ofthe said shaft "13 is of a pointed or angular formation as j be noted that the spider designated by the numeral 15. It will thus rovides means, (the sleeve) whereby. the siaft ls properly sustained in a vertical position as well as a support for the shaft and a lever which is connected with the shaft, as will presently I be set forth. Connected with the lower portion of the shaft which extends below the sleeve 12 is a lever 16, the same extending a through an opening 17 formed in the light chamber 2, and the extremity of the lever is provided with a handle 18. The opening 17 is preferably of a rectangular formation and has all but its upper portionclosed through the medium of a hinged door 19, the door being provided so that access may be obtained to the'lamp 5 without necessitating the removal of the tray, or whereby the flame of the lamp may be regulated when a lamp other than an incandescent bulb is emplovcd as a light source. U

The upper or dark chamber 3 has its open edge flanged as at 20, and rests upon a coinpressible washer 21 which is arranged upon the open end of the light compartment 2, whereby all lightis excluded from the said dark chamber. The flange 20 is inturned to provide a ledge22, the said ledge receiving a flat egg turning member 23. The member 23 is provided with openings 24, the same being in number equal to the I number of openings in, the tray or partition 7, and the said openings *are. adapted to be arranged directly above the said openings in the tray. The under face of the member 23 is provided with a lining 25 of soft material. By'reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings it will be noted that eggs 10 are arranged within the openings or pockets of the tray, and are also engaged b the walls of the openings or pockets of die turningmembers, the purpose of which will presently be set forth. The turning member 23 is centrally formed with a noncircular opening of a size sufliciently large to snugly receive the pointed or non-circular end 15 of .th'eshaft 13, whereby the turning member'may be oscillated by the movement of the lever 16 of the said shaft, When the eggs are arranged upon the tray 7 the lever 16 is central of the opening 17, and, itbeing understood that the shaft 13 extends through a central opening-in the tray or partition 7, a movement of the lever in either direction will cause the eggs to be rotated upon the tray from one of their pockets to the adjacent pocket upon either side of the pocket occupied by the egg. The space provided by the openings 17 is suflicient to permit of this movement, and the verticalwalls or edges of the said openings serve as stops for limiting the movement of the-lever in either direction.

The dark chamber 3 is provided with a coating of dark material. The dark chamber is further-provided with cleats 27 which ber 23, to sustain the same upon the ledge 22, and thcsaid dark chamber adjacent its rounded top is formed wit-h an opening provided with apiojccting eye piece 28. This eye piece is so constructed and arranged as to snugly fit against the features of the operator to shut out the light from the dark compartment as well as to direct-the line of visiondownwardly toward the eggs.

it will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings that the upper and lower compartments are connected through the medium of a hinge, so that the upper compartment may be swung to an open position with relation to the lower compartment. Having thus described the invention, what I claim is y i 1. An egg tester comprising a receptacle having upper and lower rounded walls, a

removable reticulated egg supporting partition for the receptacle dividing the same into a light compartment and a dark'compartment, a reflector within the light compartment, a lamp for the light compartment, an eye piece for the upper dark compart ment, and means for rolling the eggs upon the reticulated partition, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An egg receptacle comprising a cylindrical member having a rounded top and a rounded bottom, a partition provided with openings forming egg receiving pockets within the receptacle, an egg turning member arranged above the receptacle, said turner being also provided with openings providing egg engaging ockets, means for operating the turner mem er to roll the eggs from one of their pockets to the adjacent pocket, and a light within the receptacle and below the partition, the receptacle being provided with a sight opening having an eye piece arranged above the turner member.

3. In an egg tester, a cylindrical receptacle having rounded ends, said receptacle comprising a pair of hinged compartments,

one of the compartments having a reflective coating of dark material, a removable egg tray within the light compartment, a s ider within the light compartment, a sha rotatably mounted upon the spider, a lever for the shaft, and extending through the light compartment, a door closing an opening arranged below the lever, a turning member mounted upon the dark compartment, said member havifig egg receiving openings and being arranged directly above the egg tra said member having an opening adapte to receive the shaft to connect the member therewith, and the said member being provided with a sight opening having an eye piece substantiall as described.

In testimony whereo I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JESSE R. GRANT.

Witnesses:

F. F. Reno, F. H. Vomnr' 

